Preparing Bulgur Wheat

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Nigella's Butternut And Chickpea Soup With Bulgur Wheat is what could be described as a middle-Eastern inspired minestrone style soup, with vegetables, preserved lemons and bulgur wheat. The bulgur wheat is added to the soup towards the end of the cooking time and cooks and softens in the aromatic broth.

For this particular dish you do not need to pre-soak the bulgur wheat before cooking it. Bulgur wheat is made from whole wheat grains (berries) that have been cracked, then pre-cooked and dried. As the wheat is pre-cooked it does not need much extra cooking and will soften quickly in hot liquids. So it is fine just to add bulgur wheat directly to the soup. If you are making a salad from bulgur wheat then you will need to soak it in boiling water before draining and using it.